Pursuit of Happiness
by Lazyman05
Summary: Nightmares strike Uzumaki Naruto once more. Many things about his life haunt him and he decides to release himself in song, believing he's alone. Things never work out that way. Rated T for references. One-shot. Songfic. NaruHina


Hey guys! Sorry for the long delay. I haven't written anything in a while. I've got a writer's block on Soul of the Fox. I DO however, have this one-shot to give, so bear with me. I'll finish Soul of the Fox soon because I don't like leaving things unfinished.

Yeah yeah, I don't own Naruto. Never will.

Song used: Pursuit of Happiness- Kid Cudi

Lyrics in bold.

(Story start)

Naruto sat up in his bed. Again. Another nightmare has terrorized the Uzumaki. Many of his friends believed he was bright as the sun. Many saw him as that happy idiot that didn't get sad.

They were all wrong.

Naruto was probably in the worst shape out of all of them. The beatings, the glares, the hate, everything was used against him. All of that was used against him because he was the vessel of the Kyuubi.

Naruto suffered from many sleepless nights. Many times he was afraid to go to bed because he had no idea if anyone would come after him. He would always sleep real light, as if to be ready for anything that came, whether it was ninja or villagers, Naruto was always prepared.

For Naruto, there was not a night where he slept peacefully in his apartment. He actually slept better OUT of it because he knew that people watched him as he slept. It was part of the reason he wanted friends, so they could protect him from the villagers and few ninja that came after him. He'd never let anyone close to him die, for he was afraid that if they died, he would have no one to protect him. He was…terrified to be alone. However…

He would never admit this. It was a secret he'd take to the grave. None of his friends needed to know about this. There are also other things they shouldn't know, but that's another story. Let's just say there are things he has done and knows from his early life that he is not proud of. (1)

He just wanted to be happy for once. That's why he fought so hard. Sighing at his awake state, he knew he wasn't going back to sleep.

So, he changed his clothes and went to the top of Hokage Monument. He sat on the Fourth's head. One of his favorite songs came to mind and he decided to sing, none of his friends would ever hear him sing. But first…

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a joint. He smoked marijuana, he had his guilty pleasure. (2) He gardened for a reason. He was young and he needed a way to make money and survive. It was hard on the streets being as young as he was. Therefore, his gardening saved his life. No one knew about his weed smoking habit and no one needed to know. He had to get money to live because seriously, who's gonna give the demon money?

After lighting it, taking a few hits and coughing a few times, Naruto felt a bit better, but now he felt as if he could sing perfectly. He put out the joint and got his voice ready.

And so, he started his song.

**Crush a bit, little bit, roll it up, take a hit  
Feelin' lit feelin' light, 2 am summer night.  
I don't care, hand on the wheel, drivin drunk, I'm doin' my thing  
Rollin the Midwest side and out livin' my life getting' out dreams  
People told me slow my road I'm screaming out fuck that  
I'mma do just what I want lookin' ahead no turnin' back  
if I fall if I die know I lived it to the fullest  
if I fall if I die know I lived and missed some bullets**

Naruto sighed. The song hit home and he started on the chorus.

**I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shine ain't always gonna be gold (hey)  
I'll be fine once I get it, I'll be good.**

**I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shine ain't always gonna be gold (hey)  
I'll be fine once I get it, I'll be good.**

He wanted to be Hokage. He wanted the love of the village. He wanted a girl to love him for who he was. He wanted to sleep peacefully at night. He wanted the nightmares to go away. Naruto…just wanted a happy life. He fought so hard just so one day, he would be happy. Breaking his thoughts, he started to sing again.

**Tell me what you know about dreamin' dreamin'  
you don't really know about nothin' nothin'  
tell me what you know about them night terrors every night  
5 am, cold sweats, wakin' up to the skies  
tell me what you know about dreams, dreams  
tell me what you know about night terrors, nothin'  
you don't really care about the trials of tomorrow  
rather lay awake in the bed full of sorrow**

No one really understood why Naruto dreamed so much. To him, his dreams saved him from his hellish reality. In a way, Naruto's dream kept him sane in a world full of hate. His dream kept him going. He was a "Fighting Dreamer" until he died. He would live his dream, one day….

Breaking his thoughts again, he decided to finish his song.

**I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shine ain't always gonna be gold (hey)  
I'll be fine once I get it, I'll be good.**

**I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shine ain't always gonna be gold (hey)  
I'll be fine once I get it, I'll be good.**

Naruto moved around as if there was a guitar solo. After stopping after a bit, he finished it off.

**I'm on the pursuit of happiness. I know everything that shines ain't always gold  
I'll be fine once I get it, I'll be good**

**I'm on the pursuit of happiness  
And I know everything that shines ain't always gonna be gold, hey  
I'll be fine once I get it, yeah  
I'll be good**

**Pursuit of happiness, yeah  
I don't get it, I'll be good**

Naruto settled down. He relit his joint and sat there looking at the starry sky. The sun would be rising soon and he would have to go back to the hell that is his life. He would fake smiles and get people off his case. He would play the fool and hide his sorrow, for he did not want to burden anyone. Finishing his joint, he tossed it into the wind. He decided that now he would be able to sleep.

He would never notice the pale lavender eyes watching him in tears as he left. He never noticed her presence, she saw him in the dark streets, being unable to sleep also. The song made her cry and made her want to be with him, to save him from the hell he called life.

Naruto looked at Hinata in shock the next day after she kissed him, saying she wanted to take his pain away and help him in his pursuit of happiness. She did have one demand.

She wanted one of his plants. When he asked why, she was silent. Then he offered her a shotgun. She blushed. (3)

Naruto smirked. Her blushing gave her away, as she had to smoke to know what a shotgun was.

He was happy now. Hinata, like her namesake, came into his life and brightened it. With her by his side, his pursuit of happiness would become much easier. They would help the other reach their dreams and in the end, they would realize that they had already fulfilled their dreams by having the other.

Everything else was just extra. And they would laugh.

(Story end)

Author's Notes: (1) Naruto had to survive on the streets somehow. I figure he would have gone to desperate measures. There are many horrors in the streets and some things that may have happened that made Naruto want to be a ninja.

(2) This goes along with 1. He lived on the streets and had to make money. He needed money to survive and therefore heard about marijuana from many of the villagers in the streets. He saw how it sold and he needed the money. So, in his young mind, the plant equaled money. Simple logic, no? However, he knew he couldn't keep it up, it was a dangerous world, so he became a ninja, that way, he could fight too. However, he DID like the plant, and had to smoke it to tell how good it was, so it became one of his habits.

(3) Shotgun hits are normally when one person gives another person a hit. Basically, one person hit's the weed and then transfers the hit via mouth-to-mouth or real close to the face, using hands to keep the smoke in. Basically, Naruto would be kissing her as he did the shotgun.

Review!


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